More Viewpoints

To the editor:
I would like to send this out to the person that ran over my duck on the Noyes Road Sunday morning. Could you have at least stopped and said “Sorry I ran over your duck”? Nope. Instead he was picked apart by the ravens before he was noticed.
Yes it might be a duck, a non-typical pet, but he was our pet nonetheless.

To the editor:
President Obama’s decision will increase the troop presence in Afghanistan to roughly 100,000 by 2010 with a total cost of over $1 billion to fight the war next year. This figure is only the beginning and the least of the total costs. Personal costs are worse: costs of soldiers’ lives, both ours and theirs; life-long financial and emotional costs to families of physically and mentally wounded; life-long emotional and mental costs to disrupted families, both military and civilian. And we will live with the cultural costs for generations: effects on the U.S. economy of long-term debt to finance war and its collateral expenses; financial and other resources diverted from critical social problems such as education, health care, clean energy; terrible effects on our national ethical position about war.
Obama is wrong in this decision. With his prestige around the world and his Nobel Peace Prize, he has a window of opportunity to influence warring parties everywhere to find more peaceful solutions to international conflict than this decision reflects. War always perpetuates and creates more problems and conflicts than it resolves.
During this season of celebration for the coming of the Prince of Peace, please reflect on what that coming should mean for our national priorities. Please join the forces for peace and urge Congress to vote no more money for fighting war. Join with your local peace movement to make your personal voices heard.
Alice Bolstridge, Presque Isle

To the editor:
We went to our last parade for my foreseeable future with a “Caribou Float” this past weekend: the Presque Isle Light Parade! What a crowd! We had a great time, and we have so many people we need to thank!
In no particular order: thank you Mr. Bud Brewer, we love you (please oh please, we have been good this year, if you could help us out with our wish list — we need to fill some buildings!); thank you all the RSVP volunteers, and Margaret Kimball (your mittens were the best! Such a nice thing!); thank you Mr. and Mrs. Swanberg, Mrs. McElwee, Rob Kieffer, our own Caribou Representative Peter Edgecomb, Miss Caribou Danielle Lane, Kirk Tibbetts, our own young high school ladies, and all their 2010 CHS classmates and friends; thank you Timmy and Steven Guerrette (our favorite Caribou Fire & Ambulance elves); thank you SFE Inc. and our good friends and business neighbors at Family Chiropractic (our community is better for having you in it!); and thank you Catholic Charities, Aroostook Savings & Loan, WEGP and UMPI!
Did you see the fine Caribou representatives on the Maine Potato Board float? We are proud of all of you! Such good looking young ladies! Thank you Jenny Blackstone-Coon, Jeannie McLaughlin, Norma Milton, Monique and Cheyenne Cormier, and TNT Road Company and our own 150th Committee!
It does indeed take a village to have a float in a parade. Without all of you, we wouldn’t have been able to be a part of the Light Parade. I appreciate your support and participation!

Looking for ways to save money, be a lower impact consumer, and clear out unwanted and unused white elephants this holiday season? Regifting may provide the solution for some of your gift-giving needs! For those of you new to the word, here is how Webster’s New Millennium Dictionary defines it: Regift: (verb) “To give an unwanted gift to someone else; to give as a gift something one previously received as a gift.”
Some people may think the practice is unacceptable but a recent poll by Money Management International found that more than half of adults surveyed thought it was OK. But obviously there are rules. First, how would this concept go over with your family and friends? Would you have to hide your regifting? Or would regifting be praised amongst your peers as a sign of your wise use of resources?
Here are some practical considerations and questions as you decide if regifting will work for you. Find the right person for that regift! Ask yourself if the recipient will like the gift. If it doesn’t seem appropriate, then you can choose other gifts that use less of our planet’s resources. Try alternatives such as making a present by hand, donating to a charity in the recipient’s name, giving a local or Maine-made gift (uses less transportation resources, and keeps money circulating locally), or give a “gift certificate” for your services to help with a project or household chore. As Mom always said, “It’s the thought that counts”.
Is the regift in good condition? If it is worn, dusty or old – consider giving it to a charity instead. The charity may be able to put older items to good use. This will still help declutter your house, garage or attic, but not burden others with “gifts” they wouldn’t want anyway. Alternatively, the item might make a great gift if your worksite does a “white elephant” gift exchange.
Do you remember from whom you received the gift from originally? Don’t make the mistake of giving it back to the person who gave it to you!
When wrapping the regift, consider using a reusable (or even reused) gift bag.

To the editor:
The Greater Limestone Chamber of Commerce would like to thank all those that participated in this year’s Holiday Light Parade. This was our longest holiday light parade yet, with 29 entries — and all of them were wonderfully done! We appreciate your participation and look forward to seeing your entries again next year.
The Chamber would also like recognize and thank the following individuals for assisting in Limestone’s holiday festivities, which were held Saturday, Nov. 28th. Because of their contributions, the festivities were a success in getting everyone into the holiday spirit! We greatly appreciate all you did.
Thanks to: Raymond Beaulieu for donating the beautiful 30-ft. Christmas Tree located in the center of town; Ricky Beaulieu, Paul Beaulieu and Paul Caldwell for cutting and hauling the tree into town; Limestone Fire Department for stringing the lights and making it look pretty; BLVD Graphix, Caldwell’s Auto, and HomeTown One Stop for organizing this year’s Holiday Light Parade and donating the cash prizes for the Best Theme and Best Lights entries; and DJ Good Vibrations for playing holiday music before the parade.
Have a wonderful holiday season!